End - of -Year Events

In the final weeks of the Summer term, some fun activities were enjoyed by pupils and teachers, alike.

The Junior and Senior Infant classes visited the local Fire Station and also the Garda Station.

Sports Day was held on a sunny June 18th.

A graduation ceremony was held during the last week to wish 6th class girls goodbye.

5th class cooked tasty treats in the kitchen with Mrs C Kenny.

All classes had tremendous fun with Music Generation's samba drums workshop on the final Thursday.

Here are some photos of these activities.

Samba drums workshop! Clare and Tom from Music Generation brought an amazing selection of drums and shakers to school. Every class got to take part, working as a band! It was a great feeling, and a fun way to round off the year, with everyone outside in the sunshine.

Sports Day took place in Ballycomey on June 18th. Again, the sun shone and everyone was treated to an ice-cream at lunchtime!

Novelty races like the egg-and - spoon race, three-legged race, and sack race, were enjoyed, as well as the javelin (below).

Distance races were run at the other end of the pitch, with 100 m races, relays and hurdles included.

Obstacle races proved a big hit, with hurling skills, skipping, running and throwing challenges all part of the course.

Classes enjoyed playing ball games - football, rounders etc, and some hula hoop games, as well as trying out some bowling and croquet just beside the club-house.

Thanks to Mrs Jacob for organising the day and to all parents for having the pupils kitted out for the weather!

Junior and Senior Infants visited both the Fire Station and the Garda Station, in June. The pupils got to try out some fire-fighting techniques and sat in some Garda vehicles! The boys and girls were treated to colouring packs and worksheets in both Stations.

6th class pupils had their graduation ceremony on Wednesday 23rd June.

Mairead Delaney (parent) made this special commemorative cake (and we can confirm it was DELICIOUS!). Thank you,Mairead.

The girls sang We Come to Your Feast, One Step Beyond and Butterfly,Fly Away. They danced to Sunchyme.

Symbols representing activities and events from the past eight years were presented, and the girls read prayers and poems, as they thought of their parents, the school community and looked ahead to their time in secondary school.

All of the staff wish the girls the very best as they make this important transition.

The 6th class girls painted this tree (above) with Mrs Jacob, in their pods.

5th class girls helped to decorate the yard for the outdoor ceremony.

We will add more photos to the blog, highlighting end-of-year events and activities.

In the meantime, have a great and a safe Summer, everyone!

Centenary of Coolbawn Ambush Develops Research and Interview Skills of Senior Class!

This local history project, focused on the centenary of the Coolbawn Ambush, is a rich learning experience for all the pupils of 5th and 6th class.

Reading from many sources, and engaging in interviews with grandparents, means that the pupils have many paths to explore - from the people involved in the ambush, to the backdrop of the War of Independence, accounts of eye-witnesses, place-names, time-lines and maps-making. Indeed, even looking at photographs of those involved in the ambush of 1921, the class has learned much, and have been fascinated to hear accounts from pupils' grandparents.

The projects will be featured in the library later this month and the girls will be most interested to see the work of other local schools, and how they approached the same topic.

We will post photos of our project before it's library-bound!

Science Blast

5th and 6th class pupils are taking part in ESB's Science Blast project this year.

It's been a great learning experience, with the pupils coming up with their own investigation ideas, planning their own experiments, recording the results and making a presentation for the Science Blast judge.

Normally, the Science Blast projects are exhibited at the R.D.S. However, this year the projects are being presented remotely, via zoom.

The pupils met their Science Blast judge recently. It's the Senior Lecturer and Head of School at the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at TCD, Ingrid Hook.

Ingrid quizzed the class on experiments completed and those planned.

A final presentation via zoom will happen next week.

The pupils have carried out experiments and research to find out 'How Baking Powder Works.' Posters will be displayed outside the classroom asap.

Each pod in the class worked on a different experiment/ investigation. This project is a development of another lesson from last year, all about acids and bases.

The pupils have learned that baking powder - a very useful raising agent used by many of the pupils at home in their baking - contains both an acid AND a base, that when mixed with a liquid, releases carbon dioxide, causing the mixture to expand and rise.

Last week, one pod made cookies. One batch was made with baking powder, the second without baking powder. The pupils observed differences during the baking process, and after it (tasting)!

We will post photos of our posters shortly.

In the meantime, see how the pupils worked on their investigations, in their pods.